Names, positions, ages, amuse me…

MATT: My name is Matt, I'm 24 and my favorite position is doggy-style < b>

DARRAN: I was going to say that! My name is Darran I play guitar, I'm 29 < B>

M: No he likes the monkey it's when you grab on to the back of her legs and like… imitate monkeysâ ��

D: No I think I like it n op.

M: Oh, he's a top man.

How does your mom describe your sound?

M: My mom describes it as noise but with a bit of singing pretty uc …

D: Yeah, my mom is sort of the same way when people ask 'what sort of band is he in?'- 'Oh I don't really know? It's just really noisy I don't really like i m ch.'

M: There's not a washboard in it! (laughs)

Does your name ever make people slightly abrasive to hearing you guys for the first time?

M: Yeah pretty much but itâ� ™ our faults.

D: Yeah Matt came up with the name and most of us were kind of like 'um it sounds a bit dark, gothic sort of Norwegian black metalish?'… But yeah- when people hear the name they usually get a sort of different idea of what w m ght sound like.

M: But usually they just go with it or the screaming, emo does his own screaming a little bit or some shit like that. But I don't care I'm happy with what I do I'm content.

D: Even after a while we gradually just all got used to the name and sort of thought that for a while but then thought- well actually it's quite original. Doesn't sound like anybody else once you hear it once or twice you wo â �™t get it mixed-up.

M: I'd like to thank 'Planes Mistaken for Stars' for writing and recording 'Fuck With Fire' and calling their track 'Funeral For A Friend'. It's my favorite song off their rec rd which is why I chose it.

D: And it's got nothing to do with Elton Jo n ontrary to certain beliefs.

M: There's a lot of shit beliefs that people have these days but I guess people can't be asked to look hard enough so they go for the assumption- Elton John.

You guys released a few EP's before any international attention, are you still proud of those recordings, any big changes since then- would you want FFAF fans to pick-up those records?

M: Yeah, I think it's changed but I think it's still got elements of what we were back then. We av n't changed dramatically.

D: It's still got the 'Funeral' thread running through it but I think we'v p ogressed and developed our sound.

M: it's ot like we got a DJ in it or some shit.

D: The first EP we released was basically the first four songs we ever wrote. As we got further in o writing and recording the songs… M: It's got a bit more rock I think.

D: The song writing I th nk between us has gotten a lot more comfortable.

M: Yeah I think a lot stronger- when you can comfortably hit your guitarist with a punch t t e face and make his nose bleed by accident…

D: Which he did this morning!

M: Then you know, you're in a comfortable position.

So explain the releases a bit, you have 2 releases but one U.S and one not…

M: Um we have an album out in the UK and Europe for the moment and Japan and stuff like that 'Casually Dressed Deep in Conversation'. But the U.S release- which is actually out right now called 'Seven Ways to Scream Your Name' is a compilation of the EP's that we released. It's not a full-length or any new stuff- it's just al o the things that we've had in the UK for a while.

D: Probably like 2 tracks are from two EP's plus there's like a demo track on there, something we re-recorded in between two EP's.

M: It's kind of like ne of those year discography things to show where we came from.

D: It shows the progression of the band.

Will North America get 'Casually Dressed Deep In Conversation'?

M: Yes, yes you will.

D: Of course you will, you really want it?

M: It's coming out in the United States July 13th. Some people think it's the end of April but no it's July.

Juneau was re-recorded, it sounds different as well as the spelling, what was up with that?

M: Yeah, only cause I fucked up the first time around. There' a band called Juneau and I thought that's how you spelt Juno…

D: Juneau as in…

As in the Canadian Awards every year.

D: As in the capital of Alaska. (laughs)

M: But that's what it was meant to be initially and I thought that that was the actual spelling but it was different so… And when we rerecorded it we'd had a chance to work with a really cool Producer called Colin Richardson- and the record label kind of wanted to give some of the older songs ha we felt we'd be able to give a new push, a new lease on life so…

D: Yeah t o e rerecorded but we did use two from the second EP but they were just remixed.

M: We did it maybe because that EP was only a very, unlimited release there was only something like se en thousand copies available or around there… and a different line-up mind you.

D: And the two tracks we did rerecord that were on the first EP, we basically recorded it in three days it was only ever meant to be a demo. The studio we used also had a record label side to it and they loved the songs so much they wanted to release it as an EP. So it went from being purely a demo for us to send out and to help set-up shows. To pretty much being our first release, first f ur songs we'd ever written. So we were signed before we'd even played a show.

M: Which is just…? Looking back on it now… at least if we would've gotte a bit of a grounding before actually having to go in a studio to record those songs…

D: Yeah it would have made a bit more sense but they're sort of rough recordings.

You guys seem to know each other for a really long time?

M: Never, I've only just recently started calling him by his first-name. Bitch wasn't working out too well. Hey I am boy fucker that's all- sometimes I like girls too but… I am not keen on Kris though, he's too hairy for my liking. Too much body-hair I've seen the crack of his ass, it meets his back-hair. He's like a Persian rug man.

You guys sound real somber, morbid in some of your lyrics also extremely metaphoric and never give any initial meanings to where songs are leading…

M: I don't give away meaning in interviews either. I never do interviews either (laughs)… No, no initially when we started doing interviews and stuff I hated explaining my songs, my words and I was really like- make up your own minds people, have a good go at it. But you know some are about relationships, some are about my personal viewpoints on the world around me. I neve t y to give things away too sappy or too easily because I like people to think on their own.

D: I think lyrically Matt always approaches stuff in a non cliché way.

M: Pretty much like Bon Jovi. (laughs)

D: Matt kind of writes his lyrics fr m a different angle, not the usual sort of cliché scenario words you tend to hear in some songs.

M: Well thank you there bitch, oh I mean Darran. But yeah I just write about what I know and what I know is, me- so there we go. No better thing to write about. I'm not going to write about politics, I know jackshit about politics pretty mu h. Instead I write about all the crap in my life and life that I experience around me with these fuckers.

D: Yo k ow we have to force plenty of crap into his life so, you know he's always got plenty to write about.

M: And you see I'm happy right now so you'l s e it's going to put a big dent in the next record so they're trying their best to make me unhappy.

D: It'll be a short career if he's too happy too long. (laughs) The lay-out of each songs are different every time, do you work longer on writing the music than the lyrics, try to kill any stagnancy?

M: Oh yeah of course, when some people work a 9 to 5 in an office job we work in a garage.

D: We have an 8-track recorder in there and we demo all the songs in a very rough format in the garage.

M: Weâ �� ve all got different influences so that kind of lends itself towards the song writing process. I should hope so…

D: Even musically I think we �€™ve tried to approach every song with the point-of-view it's going to be the best song we've ever written.

M: But not a number one hit single or number two even…

Do you think in that format it could ever be a song you'd like?

M: No! I'd be against everything I do.

D: First and fo emost it's about keeping it musically interesting for us. It's got to be interesting for us to expect anything else.

M: I've had days where I've come to the garage and viewed a track. Initially the music just does nothing for me, where like I've had problems working things out with certain songs but the more you sit with something the mor y u kind of realize that by doing something yourself on the track you can make something different and it opens up the track a bit.

: ometimes it will be like me and Kris- we'll work out our guitar parts. Then Gareth and Ryan will come in to help arrange stuff.

M: Basically we tell them what to play.

D: NO! (laughs) And then Matt will come in there, with a song- usually in a rough sort of stage.

M: Yeah and then I take it to a new and wonderful place, 'I make it unbelievable.' (laughs)

Is this your first time in North America- worked-up any over reception?

M: No actually this is our second time we were out here last year. Darran was only out here fo h lf of the tour last time unfortunately. Because he's reckless! He's reckless, disobeying and breaking the law. A lot of explaining.

D: Actually, I had to wait for my visa to come through, so it ended up I missed the first week or so.

M: Why did you miss the first week? (bursts out laughing)

D: It's a long story…